Navigating the impact of lockdowns has become a speciality for our teams over the last year, especially when it comes to delivering content-led projects.
With rules around production and office capacity changing almost as often as the Melbourne weather, we’ve seen how important it is to be able to pivot quickly and find solutions that help us maintain momentum and reach our delivery goals.
A recent vodcast series we worked on is a prime example of how we’ve kept things moving for our clients, despite restrictions.
Initially we’d planned to set up a panel shoot, filming three guests and a host in a studio setting. To keep within budget we were aiming to capture all four episodes across just two and a half days of filming.
After wrangling the schedules of all 12 guests, our celeb host and production team, we were finally able to secure our dates. But alas, due to snap lockdowns and half our cast travelling in from regional Victoria, our perfectly plotted runsheet was in jeopardy.
Our dream of capturing each individual interacting and bantering back and forth may have seemed dashed, but we weren’t ready to let COVID claim another anticipated event.
Within a matter of days the team swung into action.
Looping in additional production partners and having mics couriered across the country, we developed a hybrid virtual-live option that would allow us to stick to the proposed dates and bring the chat to life.
By incorporating the use of a quality podcast recording platform and setting up a makeshift studio in the Icon offices, we were able to film our host in person and have our guests join remotely — all while adhering to the limiting work restrictions.
Gathering footage across both platforms allowed us to capture those involved and create a dynamic alternative that stuck to the brief.
Being able to stick to a timeline and deliver for our clients’ needs was the key motivation.
Reliability and bringing a solutions orientated approach to challenges is a cornerstone of how Icon operates. This is even more important in the current times.
We can’t let external circumstances stand in our way particularly when working in the behaviour change space.
So whether it's remote video direction or transitioning a corporate event to a virtual forum, our team's creative-led thinking isn’t sitting back and waiting for all this to be over.
We are right in the thick of it, making the best of it for us and our clients.
To find out more about our content production and PR capabilities view our case studies or services page.